Miscarriage trauma sparks Ipswich hospital review
A major southeast Queensland hospital is facing a review after a woman who’d had a miscarriage said she was traumatised by the treatment she received.
Nikkole Southwell, who was 12 weeks pregnant when she lost her child in April, told The Courier-Mail paramedics placed the fetus into a biohazard bag on the way to Ipswich Hospital.
The Fernvale woman said she had to sit in the hospital waiting room holding the bag with sheets around her waist.
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman has directly intervened in the incident, ordering a review.
“This is a heartbreaking situation, and I want to extend my deepest sympathies to Ms Southwell and her family,” Fentiman said in a statement.
“There is a review underway, and I look forward to receiving all recommendations from the review.”
Fentiman, who was only recently given the health portfolio after a cabinet reshuffle, said women’s health was one of her top priorities.
“I want to ensure that women right across Queensland have access to appropriate and compassionate care,” she said.
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Southwell said she was also treated on a hospital bed smeared with another patient’s blood.
Hospital staff used her partner’s phone torch rather than the appropriate medical equipment during an examination before she was discharged, she alleged.
“I lost my baby, and my dignity was taken,” she told The Courier-Mail.
“I felt like my baby meant nothing while it sat in the top of my handbag in a biohazard bag for all to see.”
